Frank Heflin — Silver City Wife-Shooter and Shootout Suspect
On the afternoon of Tuesday, December 7, 1888, Frank Heflin shot his wife in the small cottage behind the hospital where he lived with her and their five children [1][6]. Heflin had resided in the city for two years, during which his life was "one continual round of drunken debauchery and violence"; he had repeatedly beaten and abused his wife, driven her away at night, threatened to kill her, and been arrested several times after she begged for his release [2][6]. After the shooting, Daniel Coomer called on him to surrender; Heflin instead fired a double-barreled shotgun at Coomer, who dodged behind a stone wall [4]. Officers Cantley, Muse, and others arrived, and a protracted shootout followed—twenty-five to thirty shots were exchanged—until Heflin was hit with a flesh wound [4][5]. Officers then kicked in the door; Constable Buquor and his son Lee entered, and Heflin snapped an empty gun barrel at the constable [3]. He was loaded into an express wagon and jailed [5].
Sources
- About the middle of Tuesday afternoon… (1888)About the middle of Tuesday afternoon our little city was thrown into intense excite- ment by the report that Frank Heflin, who lives in a small cottage in the rear of the hospital had shot his wife. The repo…
- Heflin has resided in this city with his… (1888)Heflin has resided in this city with his wife and five children for the past two years. His life here has been one continual round of drunken debauchery and violence. At different times he has beaten and abu…
- Daniel Coomer, whose place of business… (1888)ow. The door was then kicked in and Constable Buquor and son, Lee, were the first to enter. As the rush was made Heflin snapped the right barrel of his gun, which was empty, right at the stomach of the co…
- Daniel Coomer, whose place of business… (1888)Daniel Coomer, whose place of business is within a block of the cottage, hastened to the scene and called upon the would-be mur- derer to surrender. Heflin replied by throwing a double barreled shotgun down on D…
- Silver City Enterprise — 1888-1890 (full OCR, Internet Archive) — 1888-11-16 (1888)n then raised and fired, but as Heflin was then inside his house and shooting from the door, no accurate aim could be taken. The men continued to exchange an occasional shot in this manner until the arri…
- Silver City Enterprise — 1888-1890 (full OCR, Internet Archive) — 1888-11-16 (1888)or would have been instantly killed. ( 24 ) flesh wound. The crowd of enraged men who had gathered wanted to shoot or hang the miserable wretch then and there, but the offi- cers stood firm to their dut…